如何在假期里減少浪費(fèi)

如何在假期里減少浪費(fèi)

From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent, and this extra trash — mostly food, shopping bags, product packaging and wrapping paper — adds up to an additional 1 million tons of waste a week that's sent to U.S. landfills, according to the EPA. Luckily, there are many steps you can take that will help you reduce your holiday trash — and even save some cash.

根據(jù)美國環(huán)保署的數(shù)據(jù)，從感恩節(jié)到新年，家庭垃圾增加了25%以上，而這些額外的垃圾——主要是食品、購物袋、產(chǎn)品包裝和包裝紙——加在一起，每周又有100萬噸垃圾被送到美國的垃圾填埋場。幸運(yùn)的是，你可以采取許多步驟來減少你的假日垃圾，甚至節(jié)省一些錢。

There are so many ways you can cut back on waste during the holidays. (Photo: yevgeniy11/Shutterstock)

Where to shop

去哪里購物

The easiest way to cut back on what you're throwing away is to reduce the amount of stuff you bring home in the first place, and a good place to start is with product packaging. After all, packaging makes up 30 percent of America's trash — the largest portion of municipal solid waste generated.

減少你扔掉的東西最簡單的方法就是從一開始就減少你帶回家的東西的數(shù)量，一個(gè)好的開始就是產(chǎn)品包裝。畢竟，包裝材料占美國垃圾的30%，是產(chǎn)生的城市固體垃圾中最大的一部分。

Amazon offers frustration-free packaging for some products. (Photo: Amazon)

Prefer to do all your shopping online? Before placing an order with a company, find out what kind of packaging it uses. If the website doesn't provide that information, contact the retailer — the company might be willing to ship your items in a more eco-friendly way if you ask. Buying online might even be the greener choice.

喜歡在網(wǎng)上購物?在向一家公司下訂單之前，了解一下它使用的是哪種包裝。如果網(wǎng)站沒有提供這些信息，聯(lián)系零售商——如果你要求的話，公司可能愿意以更環(huán)保的方式運(yùn)送你的商品。網(wǎng)上購物甚至可能是更環(huán)保的選擇。

The packaging dilemma

包裝的困境

Bananas already come perfectly wrapped by nature. There's really no reason to package them again. (Photo: Scrap This Pack [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

It can be difficult to assess the sustainability of packaging. If you see two similar products, it's easy to assume the one with the least amount of packaging is the more eco-friendly choice, but what if the more heavily packaged item comes wrapped in mostly recyclable materials?

很難評估包裝的可持續(xù)性。如果你看到兩個(gè)類似的產(chǎn)品，很容易認(rèn)為包裝最少的產(chǎn)品更環(huán)保，但如果包裝較重的產(chǎn)品是用可回收材料包裝的呢?

Gendell explains it this way: "Take the banana, for instance. Most folks agree that it already has some pretty effective packaging in its peel, yet a small amount of plastic can keep it ripe for twice as long, doubling its shelf life. In many instances, the banana with plastic packaging will offer a bigger sustainability advantage because the banana — which incurred social, environmental and economic impacts when it was grown, harvested and transported — won't go to waste."

Gendell是這樣解釋的:“以香蕉為例。大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)為它的果皮已經(jīng)有了一些非常有效的包裝，但是少量的塑料可以使它的成熟時(shí)間延長一倍，使其保質(zhì)期延長一倍。在很多情況下，塑料包裝的香蕉將提供更大的可持續(xù)性優(yōu)勢，因?yàn)橄憬对诜N植、收獲和運(yùn)輸過程中產(chǎn)生的社會(huì)、環(huán)境和經(jīng)濟(jì)影響不會(huì)被浪費(fèi)。”

What to give

送什么禮物

Head to the kitchen and make some homemade bread for a made-with-love holiday gift. (Photo: megscapturedtreasures/Shutterstock)

Gift giving is an essential part of the holiday season, but that doesn't mean you have to stuff stockings with store-bought products. Get a little crafty and make some presents yourself — we've got some great DIY gift ideas to get your started. Or head into the kitchen and whip up one of these scrumptious holiday treats.

送禮是節(jié)日期間必不可少的一部分，但這并不意味著你必須在襪子里塞滿商店里買的東西。自己動(dòng)手做一些禮物吧——我們有一些很棒的DIY禮物點(diǎn)子，讓你開始動(dòng)手吧?；蛘呷N房做一份美味的節(jié)日大餐。

Gift-wrap alternatives

禮品包裝的選擇

Handmade wrapping paper is fun to craft and shows that you care. (Photo: erika g [CC BY-SA 2.0]/Flickr)

Annual waste from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons in the U.S., according to the Use Less Stuff Report, and half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products, according to The Recycler's Handbook.

在美國，每年從禮品包裝和購物袋中產(chǎn)生的垃圾總計(jì)達(dá)400萬噸，據(jù)《回收者手冊》說，美國消耗的紙張有一半用于包裝和裝飾消費(fèi)品。

You may not have the same Santa-and-snowflake-print gifts as everyone else, but with a little bit of creativity, your gift-wrap can be just as festive — and not nearly as wasteful.

你可能不像其他人一樣有圣誕老人和雪花圖案的禮物，但只要有一點(diǎn)創(chuàng)意，你的禮物包裝就可以和其他人一樣有節(jié)日氣氛，而且不會(huì)那么浪費(fèi)。

Food waste

食物浪費(fèi)

There are so many things, like fruits and vegetables, that can gain a second life in a compost pile. (Photo: Annette Shaff/Shutterstock)

This is an ideal time for the family to gather around the dinner table and indulge in some holiday treats, but too often our food goes to waste. Americans waste 96 billion pounds of food each year, according to the USDA, and all that waste really adds up — in fact, the EPA says that food waste losses account for about $100 billion annually.

這是家人圍坐在餐桌前享受節(jié)日美食的理想時(shí)間，但我們的食物經(jīng)常被浪費(fèi)掉。根據(jù)美國農(nóng)業(yè)部的數(shù)據(jù)，美國人每年浪費(fèi)960億磅的食物，所有這些浪費(fèi)加起來，實(shí)際上，環(huán)保局說，食物浪費(fèi)造成的損失每年約為1000億美元。

Christmas trees

圣誕樹

If you get a real tree, be sure to recycle it at the end of the season. (Photo: Andrew Malone [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

About 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year, and regardless of where you stand on the real tree vs. fake tree debate, if you're going the real-tree route, be sure to recycle it when the holidays are over. Recycled Christmas trees are used for everything from generating electricity to preventing beachfront erosion, and preparing your tree for its afterlife is as simple as removing the ornaments and checking the collection or drop-off dates in your area. To locate Christmas tree recycling centers and services in your neighborhood, type in your ZIPcode at Earth 911.

在美國，每年大約售出2500萬到3000萬棵真正的圣誕樹。不管你是站在真樹還是假樹的立場上爭論，如果你要走真樹之路，一定要在假期結(jié)束后回收利用。從發(fā)電到防止海濱侵蝕，回收的圣誕樹被用于各種用途。為圣誕樹來生做準(zhǔn)備很簡單，只要把裝飾物拿掉，查看一下你所在地區(qū)的圣誕樹收藏或送還日期就可以了。要找到你家附近的圣誕樹回收中心和服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)，請撥打911。